Crook County Fire adds new battalion chief

Crook County Fire and Rescue announced Tuesday that Dan Drayton has been hired as its newest shift battalion chief. He previously served with Redmond Fire for the past 16 years and brings a wealth of experience and training, both in fire and EMS.

For Crook County Fire and Rescue, the addition of a new shift battalion chief is the next step in the process of changing its staffing deployment model. The change is allowing for an increased staffing level at all of the district’s three stations, the agency said.

The fire district recently finalized a new collective bargaining agreement with its labor union that took effect July 1. The new contract agreement reorganized some positions within the bargaining unit.

With the reorganization, the district is now deploying personnel differently. When the re-organization is complete, there will be a lieutenant/paramedic assigned to oversee each of the district’s three stations 24 hours a day. The lieutenants will be paired with volunteers and paid on-call employees in Juniper Canyon and Powell Butte.

At the Prineville station, the lieutenant will be partnered with three career firefighter paramedics along with volunteers and paid on call members. A 24-hour shift battalion chief will oversee and assist in managing the emergency responses within the District. Dan Drayton is the newest of the three shift battalion chiefs and fills a newly created vacancy. The new style of deployment started July 1.

This increase in service level was made possible by a new funding mechanism that allocates money to the fire district from the large companies in the enterprise zone. The funding mechanism is an agreement between the fire district, city and county that allows a percentage of the yearly money from the enterprise zone to go towards improved fire protection. The agreement was finalized in May of this year.

The fire district said the reorganization and deployment has improved station staffing and will mean shorter response times and a better chance of saving life and property in an emergency.

Scheduled career staffing in all three district stations is a true milestone, the district said, and Battalion Chief Dan Drayton will be an integral part of the team that will provide the community with improved service.